


The Captain Forgot, Sorry

by skyr_gobbler



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Firebending & Firebenders, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Humor, If someone forgetting your birthday is angst, Missing Scene, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26192986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyr_gobbler/pseuds/skyr_gobbler
Summary: Today is the day of Sozin’s Comet. The day of the Phoenix King’s and Fire Lord Azula’s coronation. Thousands will die, and tens of thousands more will be rendered crippled or grieving or homeless, all in the Fire Nation’s name. Soon the Earth Kingdom will be razed to rubble and ash.Today is glorious.Today is also Chief Communications Officer Lazhu’s birthday.***You know in Sozin’s Comet when Sokka & co. hijack the airship and this guy is super excited the captain remembered his birthday?
Comments: 9
Kudos: 33





	The Captain Forgot, Sorry

He woke hours before the morning shift bell, too excited to sleep. The crew’s quarters were quiet enough to hear the faint wind whistling past the airship. 

Lazhu’s bunkmate turned over restlessly. It seemed he wasn’t the only one awake.

“Qin Li,” he whispered from below. The battle for the top bunk didn’t end well for him last night. 

Communications Officer Qin Li groaned. “Shut it, Chief. I need to rest.” Lazhu could picture him perfectly. His shapeless brows furrowed, a long chin inclined disapprovingly, two thin lips pulled into a tired frown and a thinner moustache on top of them.

“It’s nearly sunrise,” insisted Lazhu. “You’re not going to get much rest.” He heard the distinct clang of a skull banging on a metal headrest, a sound he had been acquainted with well over the last week of him and Qin Li being forced to share a bunk. “Big day today, huh?”

“Yep,” Qin Li sighed. “The Great Comet.”

“And…?”

“And what?”

“Oh,” Lazhu said, in a voice like a kicked grizzly cub-puppy. His best friend on the whole airship forgot his birthday. 

Okay, “friend” was a stretch, but it still stung. 

The silence that passed between them was as awkward as it was tense. 

“Good luck.” Qin Li forced a smile, which of course Lazhu couldn’t see. 

Lazhu’s grin was genuine. “You too.”

***

“I don’t know whether to be disgusted or disappointed,” someone grumbled.

Small bones scraped the roof of his mouth. 

“You’ve had some practice with choking meat down your throat?” laughed another. Lazhu punched her shoulder, hard. “You’re just jealous,” he said, but his words were too muffled to be understood.

“Well, I’m impressed. Fifteen flamefish tails. That’s gotta be a new record.”

It was. He’d beaten the previous record by six.

“ _Amp’n Gira’ooi!_ ” Lazhu tried. He spat out the fish tails. “Captain Kiraboshi!“ 

“What was your name again? 

Lazhu hung his head almost below his shoulders. “Chief Communications Officer Yeh Lazhu,” he mumbled. His brief victory soured into humiliation. The guards that had egged him on winced as one, scooting unabashedly away from his seat. Even Qin Li didn’t dare speak up.

“Are you going to finish those?” The captain gestured to the sad pile of half-eaten tails leaking lemon juice and saliva onto the table. A brown goatee sliced down either side of his chin like dual swords. It was easier to focus on that than his eyes. “Or are you going to continue wasting our food, our money, and our time?” 

“Sir… you’re expecting me to eat that?”

“No,” Captain Kiraboshi said gently, falsely. “You’ve ruined them. Follow me.” 

Qin Li shot him a sympathetic look. Lazhu didn’t return it. He stood, and meekly followed his captain through the dining room and out into a fairly secluded hall. Given that the low rumble of conversation hadn’t stopped, he assumed no one besides those at his table noticed the incident. 

The hall’s poor orange lights obscured Kiraboshi’s expression. Lazhu wiped his palms on his uniform. His stomach twisted.

“It’s my birthday,” he blurted.

The captain blinked. “How old are you?” he asked.

“20, thanks for asking.” 

“You’re greener than my grandma’s foot fungus,” he said bluntly. “How you got on my ship is a mystery and a miracle, but as I can’t well send you back, you’ll be my problem for the next month. Be silent, be obedient, be dutiful, like a good soldier.”

“Actually, I head Communica—”

“Like a good soldier,” Captain Kiraboshi repeated. “Silent.”

Kiraboshi. A foreign name. An Earth Kingdom name, realized Lazhu. He was probably a half-breed colonial, someone who had to claw his way up the ranks. He was lucky he could even firebend. Of course he would be exacting on people from the homeland. From his perspective, Lazhu hadn’t earned his title.

Lazhu nodded. Stupid of him to risk being labeled as insubordinate. He bowed low from the waist, one hand folded above the other.

Kiraboshi turned away with a click of his heels.

“And by the way,” he added, “no one cares if it’s your birthday.”

***

The captain was right. No one cared. Lazhu’s mother and father didn’t send him anything, but considering their strained relationship that was to be expected. None of his friends sent him anything, but they were all off fighting in the war, too. He thought at least Cousin Biao or Auntie Lei would send him a letter, maybe even with a small package of his favorite brand of fire flakes. Or sweet cream. Or hot cakes. Auntie Lei made the best butter hot cakes.

“Chief?”

Lazhu snuck a finger under his mask to rub the wide bridge of his nose. “Uh-huh?” He’d sent his assistant to man the bridge with the captain, so he was stuck with the grunts. And Qin Li.

“The Comet’s coming. Eastern window, c’mon.” Qin Li grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the slanted window. A small crowd pressed against the glass, piling over each other like ants. Qin Li parted them effortlessly and shoved himself and his friend to the front. 

“Woah,” Lazhu gasped. 

The world was fire, bright and gold. The sky was a proud, deep red, like his nation, or blood, or luck. Black trees spread endlessly into the distance.

It was beautiful.

Lazhu was not a bender. But even he felt more powerful as Sozin’s Comet drew near.

***

His heart threatened to beat out of his chest. Lazhu _knew_ Captain Kiraboshi was a secret softy! He just had a hard, stern exterior. Wow, the captain even knew his favorite desserts! 

Also, he may have been projecting here, but did he sense an almost… paternal tone in the Captain’s announcement? His voice definitely sounded different. But in a good way. 

Lazhu gleefully skipped down the rails, replaying “a very special birthday” over and over in his head. He whistled a happy little song. Down the stairs, through the hall, down the ladder, into the bomb bay. 

“Big airship, you know.” Engineers. Nice guys, really, but they’re kind of intimidating. No fault of their own. It’s hard _not_ to be intimidated by a giant muscled man with a frankly creepy mask.

“So… Do you know who’s birthday it is?”

Hey, it’s Qin Li!

He was still disappointed that Qin Li forgot, but he’s certain that with enough sweet cream he’ll learn to forgive and forget. Lazhu was too happy to be angry, anyway. 

“I can’t believe the captain remembered my birthday! He really does care.”

Qin Li turned.

The floor dropped from under them.

Cold cut into him— dry cold, like buried bones. The faint wind outside was now a deafening roar, whipping Lazhu’s clothes and tearing off his helmet. The wind forced him into a grimace. He squeezed his eyes shut. His fists clenched tightly.

And then it was cold again, but wetter and worse. Now it seeped into his skin.

Lazhu held in his gasp. Briefly submerged, he paddled towards the light and broke his head above the surface. His eyes burned with seawater.

The engineer that had been talking to Qin Li waved. “Happy birthday.”

He looked to be on the verge of tears.

“Uh, are you okay?”

“No,” Lazhu mumbled. 

The engineer took off his mask, revealing a round face and a dimpled smile. “C’mon. Shore isn’t too far.” 

***

Lazhu collapsed on the sand. His clothes were still soaked with seawater, and he probably had sea-ticks, and he definitely ruined his logbook, but at least he wasn’t Qin Li right now. 

Qin Li fell to his knees and heaved again. Lazhu slapped his back.

“Ugh. I don’t think anything’s coming up.” Qin Li wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He steadied himself on his friend’s arm with the same hand.

“Gross,” said Lazhu. Then, “You got a lot of seawater in you. Drink this.” He unfastened the standard-issue tin water bottle from his hip and passed it to Qin Li. 

Qin Li took it gratefully and began to chug it down. 

“Not that fast! You don’t want to barf it up again.”

He slowed. 

When he had finished, Lazhu pulled him up. “Thanks.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.” They walked back towards the rest of the crew, who were beginning to set up camp in a cave.

Qin Li’s mouth twisted in confusion. “Are you mad at me?”

“Of course not, why would you say that?” Lazhu deadpanned. 

“Did I do something?” 

“It’s more like you didn’t do something.”

“What did I— Oh. Happy birthday.”

Lazhu didn’t say anything.

“I actually did get you something, but it’s on the airship. I’m sorry, today was just so busy and I totally forgot.”

“Save it,” Lazhu snapped.

“No, I really got you something! It was a bag of ‘Sifu Spicy’s Extra Hot Fire Flakes.’ I know they’re your favorite, and they were really hard to come by so I might’ve eaten some but—”

Lazhu tackled Qin Li in a hug, knocking the air out of his lungs. “I love you,” he sniffled. 

“Love you too, buddy.” Qin Li patted Lazhu’s back gingerly. “You’re kind of squishing me, though.”

“Sorry.” Lazhu rolled off. 

***

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I’m not funny.


End file.
